The Secret of Friendship

Title: The Secret of Friendship
Author: Aiji Yamakawa, Kazune Kawahara
First Published: January 1, 2010
Publisher: Seven Seas
Pages: 256
Genre: Comedy, Comedy Romance, Romance, Shojo
Format: Web
Source: Web
Rating:


Synopsis:

Eiko and her best friend Moe couldn't be more different. While Eiko is a shy, average-looking girl, Moe is beautiful and constantly gets attention from guys. Though their personalities are total opposites, the bond between them is incredibly strong. Moe might have an endless supply of suitors, but when it comes to actually dating them, she has a condition: her boyfriend must value Eiko more than he does Moe. No one has yet been able to meet her condition--not until a boy named Tsuchida appears, at least. What will Eiko do when her relationship with her best friend begins to change?

Get the Book: Amazon

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Review

The Secret of Friendship is a story of sweet story of friendship between girls. Best friends Eiko and Moe are inseparable and spend every day together. Eiko is cute, good-natured, and flexible, putting others before herself and often ending up unnoticed. Moe is popular, strong-willed, and outspoken, she often finds herself facing backlash for being herself. Eiko’s mutability compliments Moe’s fixed nature, they are a perfect pair of opposites.

Moe is asked out often and she repels boys by demanding that they also pay attention to her best friend, until the day a boy says yes. Maintaining a friendship after entering a new relationship can put friendships to a test, as more time is invested in a new partner some friends drift away. Single friends end up becoming a third wheel, and in manga this often becomes the case, with romance taking the lead. The Secret of Friendship subverts this and instead presents a strong female friendship that takes priority over romance.

I really loved Moe and Eiko’s friendship, and after a reread it feels like Moe’s character could easily be read as a closeted lesbian, head over heels in love with her best friend. Their relationship is so endearing that frankly the male love interests were uninteresting. I disliked Narugami, while I liked the idea for the story the romance the execution was awful and the romance felt forced. I’m not keen on bullying romances at all. Still, the commentary about how important and long lasting a genuine friendship can be over relationships that come and go was wonderful.

♥ I’ll Go Check On Him: I didn’t really care for this bonus short story about a girl spying on a friend’s cheating boyfriend. She runs into a boy who follows the main character around, helping her and eventually courting her. I didn’t get any real sense of chemistry between these two and I found the story to be pretty forgettable.

Rating Breakdown

Finding a great friend… Is just as hard as finding a boyfriend.

For me, finding one true friend… Was a lot harder than finding a hundred boyfriends.

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